MINOR SUPER-HERO ROUND-UP 076

Yet more super-heroes for your delectation.

the Black Widow:

There are a lot of Black Widows in comics, but Linda Masters is the first one who I have encountered who is actually a widow and not just a woman named after a spider as a way of emphasizing how creepy-deadly she is. And since her husband was Murdered by a Crime™, she expresses her grief by becoming a crimefighter.

We don't see a lot of the Black Widow's modus operandi during her single recorded adventure, but she is handy with a gun and a judo throw. She spends most of her time standing outside in an overcoat in the rain, so we don't even get much of a chance to observe her costume aside from the fact that it includes a black turtleneck with a particularly leggy spider logo on it. 

She is also at least a better detective than the police in whatever NYC-alike city she calls home, given that the entirety of her first adventure takes place while they are misreading the directions she gave them to the villain's hideout that she has already found. (Cat-Man Comics 001, 1941)

Categorized in: Animals (Arachnids), Colours (Black), Family (Widows)

the Flying Legion: 

Headquartered out of a hollowed-out mesa, this combination air rescue/air vigilante corps is notable mainly for the fact that every single member seems to have a nickname, from leader Chute Harmon to his aides Wolf, Slip and Piston. Perhaps it's part of the onboarding process. (Cat-Man Comics 002, 1941)

Categorized in: Generica (Legions), Professions (Aviators)

the Pied Piper: 

The Pied Piper is a super-hero whose origin combines two popular tropes: that of the member of the legal system who discovers that the justice they seek can only be found outside of the normal bounds of the law and that of the framed person who must operate outside the law to clear their name (BONUS: he is also an example of a much less common trope, that of the super-hero who has a little mustache). Specifically, the Pied Piper is Stephen Prentice, a lawyer who finds himself framed twice in rapid succession and must turn to his mastery of the pipes to expose the corrupt judge and political boss behind the plot against him.

(the second framing is for a pretty standard murder, but the first one does demand some comment. Prentice is framed for defending a guilty man for murder, with the really damning aspect being that he supposedly set out to do so while knowing that he was guilty. While I am admittedly not a lawyer I cannot imagine that this would be enough to ruin someone's career, even in 1941. Which is probably why they doubled down and also framed him for murder, now that I think of it)

As his name implies, the Pied Piper employs flute and recorder type instruments in his crimefighting, and while his first adventure heavily implies that he is using the power of suggestion to make his foes believe that the music has the power to compel them, subsequent stories make it clear that he is armed with one or more magical instruments acquired as part of his flute-collecting hobby.

Some examples of just what a man can do when armed with a magical flute:

- knock a man unconscious

- compel a man to give a confession

- kill animals 

- collapse buildings 

It really is a very useful item. (Cat-Man Comics 003, 1941)

Categorized in: Accessories (Musical Instruments), Famous Figures (Literary), Professions (Law)

the Hood: 

The Hood, in reality FBI agent Craig Williams, is a non-super-powered vigilante who had only one appearance in 1941, and while I'm sure that there is more to say about him, almost all of it will have to come in the due course of time.

Two things I can say about him are 1. his adventures are extremely dynamic and 2. he kind of looks like the Golden Age Atom. Chew on that for a while, I guess. (Cat-Man Comics 005, 1941)

Categorized in: Objects (Hoods), Professions (Law)

GENERIC COSTUMED VILLAIN ROUND-UP 036

Every one of them a disappointment to their parents. 

Mr Axis: 

He may just be a regular Nazi spy* lurking around Washington DC and disrupting trade deals between the US and the rubber-rich nation of Rumbia, but his name is Mr Axis! Such a perfect name for a fascist super-villain and yet one that seemingly was only used once**. Patriotic super-hero Miss Victory really puts the boots to him in her debut adventure. (Captain Fearless Comics 001, 1941)

* Technically by my usual metrics I'd call this guy a crypto-fascist of no clear national origin but c'mon: his name is Mr Axis.

**Except that he does reappear in Captain Aero Comics 011, in which this story is retold unchanged but with different art. Weird stuff.

Categorized Under: Crime as Theme (Fascism), Generica (Misters)

the Arson Ring:

Considering the fact that his feature is called "Blaze Baylor and the Arson Ring" I really expected super arson investigator Blaze Baylor to be contending with the same group of arsonists - a ring, if you will - throughout his adventures. This is not in fact the case, or at least it is not supported in the text. Blaze does battle the Arson Ring in his first outing and they are heavily implied to be the ones who killed his dad Smoky Baylor, so that's something. (Cat-Man Comics 001 1941)

Categorized under: Crime as Theme (Arson), Generica (Rings), Narrative Footballs (Origin Guys)

Igor and his Mother:

This unnamed woman and her son Igor live in poverty on the outskirts of an unnamed city and come into conflict with the Black Widow after turning their inborn talents (Igor being very strong and his mother so ugly that she can stop a man's heart) to crime. Igor ends up being shot by the Black Widow, while his mother dies in an attempt to burn their hovel down and kill the hero. (Cat-Man Comics 001 1941)

Karl von Keilman: 

Though you might think that Karl von Keilman is a mad or criminal scientist from the way he dresses, this is in fact stolen valour as it is Karl's brother Abner who is the scientific mind of the family. Abner is the one responsible for creating the Dolls of Death, self-propelled and self-guided bombs that he had intended to turn over to the War Department before Karl showed up, killed him and started using them to blow up defense factories.

Karl didn't reckon, however, on the fact that his brother was friends with the Deacon and so a super-heroic nose would be poked into his business. He also never learned not to get into an indoor fight when your weapon of choice is exploding dolls. (Cat-Man Comics 002, 1941)

Categorized under: Accessories (Little Robots), Murder (Fratricides)

MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 565: THE BLACK WIDOW

(The Funnies 030, 1939)

The Black Widow is a sinister femme fatale spy chief in the classic mode, complete with cigarette holder, tight red dress and imperious attitude. A few things that make her fun:

-the vague European country she works on behalf of is Bosylvania, a country about which nothing is revealed aside from the fact that it has the best geographical suffix: -sylvania

-the Black Widow is in fact Princess Maxine of Bosylvania so her activities have an even greater potential for international incident than your typical spy, and certainly there's an even greater risk than usual of tying her to her employers.

-the Black Widow does not leave her castle HQ (located in the Castle District of the Northeastern US, presumably) for the duration of the story. This is because she knows how to delegate.

When Secret Service agent Tom Beatty and his teen pal Danny show up despite the bomb the Black Widow had placed in their plane she takes another pass at killing them using an assassin's teapot, which is always fun to see.

Beatty is eventually captured and though it doesn't turn out well for her I must say that any villain who takes the time for a bit of hero-taunting before their triumph gets a gold star in my book. Just stay well away from the bars!

Beatty is of course recaptured because this is a serialized story and getting captured is good cliffhanger fodder. The Black Widow and her cronies come really close to getting away but instead she gets horribly killed just off panel. I guess exploding princess heads were too much even for the heady days of the pre-Code Golden Age - we'll have to wait until the late 80s at earliest before we get an explosive decapitation in a mainstream comic if I'm any judge.